Jobless Claims – The week in which Easter falls may be at play in a stunning 32,000 drop to 300,000 in initial jobless claims. This is the largest drop in more than 10 years.

Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index – Americans’ ratings of their personal finances slipped to their lowest in five months, possibly reflecting the impact of rising gasoline prices.

Consumer Sentiment – The weather is warming and consumer sentiment also jumped up to 82.6 for mid-April vs 80.0 in final March.

Mortgage Rates

According to the Primary Mortgage Market Survey released by Freddie Mac, average mortgage rates decreased slightly heading into the spring home buying season.

30-year fixed-rate mortgages (FRMs) averaged 4.34% with an average 0.7 point for the week ending April 10, 2014, down from last week when they averaged 4.41%. A year ago at this time, 30-year FRMs averaged 3.43 percent.

15-year FRMs this week averaged 3.38% with an average 0.6 point, down from last week when they averaged 3.47%. A year ago at this time, 15-year FRMs averaged 2.65%.

5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) averaged 3.09% this week with an average 0.5 point, down from last week when they averaged 3.12%. A year ago, 5-year ARMs averaged 2.62%.

1-year Treasury-indexed ARMs averaged 2.41% this week with an average 0.5 point, down from last week when they averaged 2.45%. At this time last year, 1-year ARMs averaged 2.62%.

Equity Markets

It was a rough week for stocks, particularly the NASDAQ, which fell more than 1.3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 143 points, while the S&P 500 finished the week down 1%.

The Week Ahead

Monday, April 14

Retail Sales (8:30 a.m. ET) – Retail sales measure the total receipts at stores that sell merchandise and related services to final consumers. Sales are by retail and food service stores.

Tuesday, April 15

Consumer Price Index (8:30 a.m. ET) – The Consumer Price Index is a measure of the change in the average price level of a fixed basket of goods and services purchased by consumers.

Housing Market Index (10 a.m. ET) – The National Association of Home Builders produces a housing market index based on a survey in which respondents from this organization are asked to rate the general economy and housing market conditions. The housing market index is a weighted average of present sales of new homes, sale of new homes expected in the next six months, and traffic of prospective buyers in new homes.

Wednesday, April 16

Housing Starts (8:30 a.m. ET) – A housing start is registered at the start of construction (excavation) of a new building intended primarily as a residential building.

Thursday, April 17

Jobless Claims (8:30 a.m. ET) – New unemployment claims are compiled weekly to show the number of individuals who filed for unemployment insurance for the first time.

Builders began work on fewer homes in July, indicating residential real estate is failing to contribute to U.S. growth. In other economic news, industrial production climbed to .9%, which has sent bond prices down off their highs this morning.

The 10-year treasury yield is at 1.82% this morning as mortgage-backed securities edged up slightly higher today than their close yesterday. Also, the home sales report is scheduled to be released tomorrow.